Incidence

Incidence

The incidence of cleft lip and/or palate is around 1:600 live births. There are geographical and ethnic variations, with a higher incidence among the South East Asian and Native American populations than elsewhere in the world. The accu - racy of these figures may be questionable owing to a variance in reporting and healthcare infrastructure. The typical distribution of cleft types is: /uni25CF cleft lip alone: 15% ( Figure 50.1a,b ); /uni25CF cleft lip and palate: 45%; /uni25CF isolated cleft palate: 40% ( Figure 50.1c ).